MCM: If you imagine "outer story" as what happens, where it happens, who it happens to—the great newspaper reporter's questions—"inner story" explores why and what it means. In newspaper writing, we left that up to the reader, many times. We just reported the facts. Now, I was learning to weave meaning (the story behind the situation) into my writing. As soon as I began incorporating "inner story," a few of my short stories were published, even won awards. It took five more years of learning about "inner story" and listening carefully to three of my most interesting characters before I could evolve into long-form fiction. My novel, Qualities of Light, was published last year and has been nominated for a PEN/Faulkner award.

AMA: What about "inner story"?

MCM: The element of "inner story" is what I love most in my writing; it's what lingers long after all action subsides. My journey into a new genre taught me that meaning—in life and in writing—can't be outlined or plotted. Meaning seeps in when we're not looking or planning anything. All we can do is listen for it and be ready to pay attention.

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About Me

Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor, and professor of writing, English and English as another language. She is also a co-author of Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Co-founder of the Ridgefield Writers Conference and a professional book editor, Adele crafts articles, columns, reviews and stories for journals such as 34th Parallel, The Fairfield Review, Hotmetalpress, Feile-Festa, Marco Polo Arts Magazine, Midway Journal, Miranda Literary Magazine, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Pyramid, Tertulia, The Washington Independent Review of Books and Southern Literary Review, where she was managing editor. Her work has also been anthologized for Chatter House Press and Fairfield University, where she received an MFA in creative writing. Her essay on Italian citizenship is part of the Clarion Award-winning Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers, and her flash fiction has been adapted for the stage. A professor of English and writing, Adele is completing a novel set in Italy. Her website is Adele Annesi.